Failure in Abyssinia, 1935
The Dispute:
• 1928 treaty = 20-yr friendship & defined Abyssinia-Italian Somaliland border.
• 1930: Italy built a fort at WAL WAL (inside Abyssinia).
• Dec 1934: Skirmish at Wal Wal → 107 Abyssinians & 50 Italians/Somalis dead. Each side blamed the other.
• Jan 1935: Abyssinia asked League for ARBITRATION.
What the League did:
• League delayed 9 months just sorting Wal Wal incident.
• Britain & France negotiated w. Mussolini → he used time to send army to Africa.
• League suggested giving part of Abyssinia to Italy.
The Outcome:
• Oct 1935: Mussolini ignored League & INVADED.
• Italy used planes, bombs, tanks, CHEMICAL weapons; Abyssinians had horses & rifles.
• Britain banned ARMS SALES to both → hurt Abyssinia more than Italy.
• Britain kept SUEZ CANAL open → Italy kept supplies flowing.
• HOARE-LAVAL Pact (Dec 1935): Britain & France secretly planned to give Abyssinia to Italy → public outrage → withdrawn.
• May 1936: Italy captured ADDIS ABABA & merged Abyssinia into empire.
• June 1936: Emperor HAILE SELASSIE appealed to League → League did nothing.
• League failed.
Abyssinia: Consequences
• League shown to be POWERLESS vs determined aggressor.
• All 1920s agreements shown as worthless.
• 1936 League debate admitted failure → 1937-39 League stopped trying to INTERVENE in wars.
• Nations lost faith in collective security → eg Britain (1936) admitted League couldn't keep peace & started rearming.
• Italy left League (Nov 1937), accused Britain & France of using it vs Italy → worsened diplomacy in Europe.
• Italy left STRESA FRONT (anti-Hitler alliance) → allied w. Germany (Axis, Nov 1936).
• USSR (joined League 1934 to counter Germany) saw League was weak → 1939 signed Nazi-Soviet Pact.
• Hitler grew bolder:
◦ 1936: Used Abyssinia crisis to march into Rhineland.
◦ 1938: Annexed Austria & Sudetenland → path to WWII.
• League unable to stop Hitler breaking Treaty of Versailles → WWII only way to stop him.
|
